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Microsoft Hyper-V

Quality Approver supports automated package testing on virtual machines, hosted on a remote Microsoft Hyper-V server. In order to start using Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines, perform the following steps.

STEP 1 – FULFILL THE REQUIREMENTS TO THE HYPERVISOR

1. Windows Server 2012 R2 or newer with the Hyper-V role
2. Windows Server user has administrative privileges

STEP 2 – FULFILL THE REQUIREMENTS TO THE VIRTUAL MACHINE

1. The virtual machine is running Windows 10 version 1803 or newer

   Note

   It is recommended to use a clean Windows OS with a minimum set of preinstalled software in order to minimize the negative impact on testing results.

   Check the Windows version by running winver command (Win + R).

2. The user has the administrative privileges

   The administrative privileges are required by Windows App Certification Kit for package testing.

STEP 3 – CONFIGURE THE HYPERVISOR

1. Give virtual machines access to the physical network

   Quality Approver that you launches on your computer must be able to connect to the remote virtual machine over the network to run and control the package testing process. So, both your computer and that virtual machine must be located in the same network. By default, Hyper-V virtual machines have access to the physical network.

   Check that your Virtual Network Switch on Hyper-V server is configured to the External connection type. For details, see Create a virtual switch for Hyper-V virtual machines online article.

2. (For a third party firewall only) Allow incoming WMI traffic

   Quality Approver uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) on the hypervisor to turn on/off the required virtual machine, get its status, and restore it to the specified checkpoint. By default, Windows Firewall of Hyper-V server allows WMI traffic. If you are using a third party firewall, ensure that incoming WMI traffic is allowed.

STEP 4 – CONFIGURE THE VIRTUAL MACHINE

1. Power on the virtual machine

   Power on the virtual machine and login into the system with the user account which has the administrative privileges.

2. Install the Windows App Certification Kit on the virtual machine

   Windows App Certification Kit, a part of Windows SDK, is used for package testing. Download and run the Windows 10 SDK installer on the virtual machine and install the Windows App Certification Kit and Application Verifier For Windows.

   

3. Run PACE Tuner on the virtual machine

   PACE Tuner is a tool that configures the virtual machine for running the automated package testing. Copy the PACE Tuner installer from your system, where PACE is installed, to the virtual machine and complete the installation on the virtual machine. PACE Tuner installer could be found at C:\Program Files (x86)\PACE Suite\Quality Approver\PACE Tuner\HyperV\Microsoft Hyper-V – PACE Tuner.msi (the path may differ, if you have changed the default PACE Suite installation directory).

   Warning

   PACE Tuner changes the security features of the operating system and must not be run on your work station (PC). The uninstall mechanism of PACE Tuner does not restore the changed security settings. Run PACE Tuner only on the virtual machine, which can be restored to the previous state.

   
   

   For Hyper-V virtual machine, PACE Tuner configures the following:

   • Enables Developer mode

     Windows App Certification Kit requires enabling this system feature.

   • Enables automatic login in Windows

     Windows App Certification Kit also requires a UI session for the proper testing. Automatic login secures this UI session.

   • Enables Windows Firewall exception

     Quality Approver runs and controls the package testing process on the Hyper-V virtual machine remotely over the network and requires the following firewall exceptions to be enabled:

   • Allows ICMP echo requests and opens 445 port

     Used for transferring package sources to the remote virtual machine with the use of the Administrative Share (like \\computername\C$).

     NOTE If you are using a third party firewall on the virtual machine, ensure that ICMP echo requests are allowed and 445 port is opened.

   • Allows incoming WMI traffic

     Used to start and control the process of package testing remotely.

     NOTE If you are using a third party firewall on the virtual machine, ensure that incoming WMI traffic is allowed.

   • Disables User Account Control

     Windows App Certification Kit requires the administrative privileges for running. Disabling the User Account Control (UAC) allows to run Windows App Certification Kit with the administrative privileges remotely in an unattended mode.

   • Disables User Account Control (UAC) remote restrictions

     For transferring package to the remote virtual machine with the of the Administrative Share (like \\computername\C$), it is not enough to add firewall exceptions such as Allow ICMP echo requests and open 445 port, but also it is needed to disable UAC remote restrictions. For details, see Description of User Account Control and remote restrictions online article.

   • Disables non-essential services

     Update, Search, Offline files, Security center, and Diagnostic policy services produce lots of system noise that could influence the testing results.

   • Installs PACE broker service

     PACE broker service serves communication between Quality Approver and virtual machine.

4. Shut down the virtual machine

   Shut down the operating system of the virtual machine. For this, select Start > Power > Shut down.

   

5. Create a checkpoint of the configured virtual machine

   Create a checkpoint of the current state of virtual machine. Further, the virtual machine will be automatically restored to this checkpoint before and after testing process. For more details, see Work with Checkpoints.

STEP 5 – ADD THE CONFIGURED VIRTUAL MACHINE TO THE LIST IN QUALITY APPROVER

1. Launch Quality Approver

   Launch Quality Approver app on your computer. This application will run the tests on configured virtual machines.

   

2. Add the configured virtual machine

   Click Configure new VM and complete the wizard steps. Select the proper virtual machine location, specify connection settings, virtual machine name, configured snapshot and so on. The wizard connects to the specified virtual machine, checks the prerequisites and only then adds this virtual machine to the list of Quality Approver.

   

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Note

PACE Suite covers the whole range of application packaging tasks - learn more.

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